Monday, June 15, 2015

In his closing days as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dempsey councils patience over intervention.

Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attends Queen Elizabeth II Trooping the Colour parade on June 13 in London.(Photo: DoD)

June 15, 2015
By Robert Burns

...He counsels patience, for now. (click here)

Give the Iraqis more time to heal their internal divisions and fight their own battles. Resist the temptation to grab control of the contest against the Islamic State group. An enduring victory will take more than military might; it will require a unified Iraq supported by neighbors.

"If we were to take control of this campaign, I mean literally seize control of the campaign, then there's no doubt in my mind we would probably defeat ISIL on, let's say, a faster timeline, but at some considerable cost to our young men and women in uniform," he told U.S. troops Thursday in an aircraft hangar in Naples, Italy, on one of his last overseas trips before finishing his four-year tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And that defeat would not last....

Donald Trump is not being helpful and is nto being smart.

June 15, 2015
By Cooper Allen

On Tuesday, (click here) Donald Trump is set to make his intentions clear about whether he plans to run for president in 2016. It will hardly be the first time Trump has made overtures toward a presidential campaign.
USA TODAY looks back at some of Trump’s past flirtations with White House bids....

I am willing to entertain there is a solution to the problems in the Middle East that is not part of 'normal' strategies. I am willing to believe Mr. Trump is really on to something. He may even realize this is a strategy that cannot be discussed in a public venue. If that is the case, I congratulate him.

However, there are no barriers to generals to propose his ideas. Generals are busy people, but, if they believed there was an idea that could defeat the enemy quickly and return function to a region in the Middle East, I am confident they would allow time to hear the idea.

Mr. Trump should have ventured into the idea of speaking to the USA military about his ideas. They don't have to disclose anything to him. One general could find time to receive Mr. Trump at the Pentagon for lunch and hear what he has to say.

Would he get credit for his idea? Absolutely he would. It is the custom of the US military to bring forth victory of the country to the public when it is no longer a threat to the mission requiring secrecy. The USA military would be more than happy to bring forth the truth about the contributions by Mr. Trump should the mission bring about victory. 

So.

If he was a smart man, he would seek a lunch with a general in the USA military that would entertain his ideas as potentially plausible. He would have delivered his ideas, he would have a time mark to his visit and ultimately any success or failure.

There is a chance this isn't a military strategy at all. If that were the case, then I congratulate him for thinking outside the box. But, it would be good if he expedited the venture to end the suffering.

When former President Clinton ran for office in 1992, the problem with dropping health care insurance rolls was already a decade old.

This problem has been studied ad nauseam. There is no basis for any political party to simply look the other way. This is a legitimate problem for this country. The Republicans need to have answers and not simply the party that opposed an answer to this American problem. 

Obviously, the private sector is not interested in providing benefits such as health care. Thirteen percent is a huge number. In 1981 there were 99,955,000 Americans in our work force according to US Labor statistics. That means 13 percent meant 12,994,150 lost health insurance. Now multiply that by the number of family members in those households. It is a huge number of Americans without health insurance. 

In 1988 when this study was completed there was nothing done about the fact there was no health insurance for at least 13 million Americans and their families. In 1992, the President Elect Clinton promised to pursue an answer to this American problem. We all know what happened.  

The study from Kaiser listed the uninsured. The problem grew, it did not resolve over time. Sooner or later the Republicans needs to come to terms with the fact the private sector wants profits and not providing for something they obviously believe is the responsibility of the government. 

The USA has to find a solution and end the trauma of lack of health care insurance to the American people. 

This isn't about whether or not the private sector can 'do it better than the USA.' This is about the very clear fact, the private sector DOES NOT WANT TO DO IT! 

Health Insurance: 
A Profile of the Uninsured in Ohio and the Nation 
HRD-88-83: Published: Aug 30, 1988. Publicly Released: Oct 5, 1988.

Pursuant to a congressional request, (click here) GAO studied: (1) the growth in the number of individuals without health insurance between 1982 and 1985; (2) the characteristics of uninsured persons in the United States and Ohio; (3) health insurance costs and affordability in Ohio; and (4) federal, state, and local health care programs in Ohio that assist the uninsured.

GAO found that: (1) the number of Americans without health insurance increased by 13 percent between 1982 and 1985; (2) reasons for the increase included a decrease in employer- or union-sponsored insurance, the growth of industries which typically do not offer coverage, and an increase in insurance costs; (3) the likelihood of being uninsured was significantly greater among individuals who were not full-time employees, were unmarried or separated, or had incomes below or close to the poverty level; (4) a disproportionate percentage of individuals who were nonwhite or young or who worked in the agriculture, construction, or retail trade industries lacked insurance; and (5) cost and health status were serious obstacles in obtaining health insurance. GAO also found that: (1) Ohio statistics regarding the uninsured and insurance availability and affordability paralleled national averages; (2) federal, state, and local health care programs in Ohio handled over 2 million visits from low-income patients, at a cost of over $2 billion in 1985; and (3) uninsured persons in Ohio did not have uniform access to publicly supported programs.

The Health Care Uninsured?

This is a study by the Kaiser Foundation. Kaiser is usually accepted as an important source for such information. These statistics are based on 2013 information. The Affordable Care Act didn't go into full enforcement until 2014. I sincerely doubt there are reliable statistics for 2014 otherwise it would be here. (click here)

There is no doubt the Republicans have estimates about health care insurance coverage, but, they are going to be skewed no matter when their statistics take place because their governors refused the extended Medicaid. 

It is difficult to believe governors would actually be proud of those uninsured. That is just strange. This was their political strategy, to brag about the number of uninsured Americans? Really? Like, no clue.

The Marijuana Industry

I find it difficult to believe the federal unlawfulness of this industry is a surprise.

June 15, 2015
Written by Press Release

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—June 15, 2015. Today the Colorado Supreme (click here) Court affirmed lower court decisions allowing employers to fire employees for marijuana use while off-duty.  The decision hinged on the state’s lawful off-duty activities statute.  The Court held that in order for the off-duty conduct to be considered “lawful,” it must be legal under both state and federal law.  The unanimous decision was not a surprise to advocates working to reform marijuana law and policy in Colorado....

The Colorado Supreme Court is not limited to state law. There is no way to turn off the faucet of law implications to this industry in Colorado. If federal forces want to come into Colorado tomorrow and shut down every dispensary, regardless of medical or not, they can do it. The next President might not take the approach of President Obama to allow Colorado freedom to build an economic engine with this product. So, the industry has to address the federal authority at some point in time. Conservatives wants to end this practice, so let's be clear, this success is conditional.

This is how the product is received in Massachusetts.

June 15, 2015
By Mary Serreze

AMHERST — Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan (click here) reiterated over the weekend that he is staunchly against the legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts, saying it would be harmful to young people.
"Big tobacco sold us a bill of goods; let's not let big marijuana sell us a bill of goods," said Sullivan to a roomful of public health officials, defense lawyers, legalization advocates, and others gathered at the Amherst Room of the University of Massachusetts Campus Center on Saturday.
Sullivan was one of a dozen speakers at a day-long marijuana policy forum organized by the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. The event featured remarks by Andrew Freedman, marijuana coordinator for the state of Colorado, where pot was legalized by voters in 2012....

There are still all sorts of prejudice against the industry. Those aren't going away. People are going to see marijuana as a worse problem than alcohol. Colorado has to prove it has tackled all the social safety issues, including and especially, keeping the substance out of the hands of minors. 

The promoters of the marijuana industry demonstrated how they can provide income to the states. One of the reasons the industry was accepted at all is because they paid state taxes and closed budget short falls. It was smart and it provided the product was worth establishing as a benevolent product, both socially and medically. The industry provided marijuana use was not a reason for irresponsible behavior, like driving under the influence.

While President Obama is still in office the marijuana needs to provide the federal government with taxes produced by the industry. The industry needs to prove it does not create any more social problems than alcohol. Considering there is no liver damage, that is a real enhancement. That is the other factor. Not that marijuana is legal in Colorado a complete document to the social acceptance and opposition has to be compiled. That means universities have to be granted monies to carry out such evaluations to produce an understanding for legal acceptance. 

Additionally, there is no reason to appeal the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court so much as find legislators in Colorado willing to remove the unfairness in employment federal statues create. Those statues will be tried in the courts as well, but, by the time it finds it's way into the courts, hopefully the federal government will be willing to reexamine the prohibition of marijuana. 

The promotion of the industry is far from over. These are very smart folks who found a way to put an agenda before a state legislature. They are capable of doing more and should do so. 
I haven't heard anything different yet from Bush the Third. Wow, the next decade with his leadership is going to be the greatest time of all times. He didn't say how he was going to stop the storms and droughts.

There really isn't anything new here except the words. It is Bush the Second all over again.

I think "Salon" got it right that the Republican Rule Book of Trickle Down Economics should be abandoned forever. 

June 13, 2015
By David Madland 

...Conard laughed (click here) along with the audience, and then launched into his argument that great rewards for the “most talented” people were the secret to America’s success. Making the rich richer is good for everyone, he claimed, because high levels of inequality provide strong incentives for risk taking and innovation that are essential for economic growth.... 

...Though Conard’s comments were provocative—indeed his book tour generated significant press, including a multipage feature in the New York Times Magazine—he was merely stating the barely hidden premise underlying supply-side economics. Supply-side economics, the misguided theory that has controlled economic policymaking for the past three decades, is built on the idea that inequality is good. Tax cuts for the rich and less regulation of business supposedly provide incentives for the wealthy to invest and work more. Enabling “job creators” to get richer helps us all, the theory goes....

...The American economy has been thrown off balance because the middle class is so weakened and inequality so high. An economy that works only for the rich simply doesn’t work. To have strong and sustainable growth, the economy needs to work for everyone....

Bush the Third sounded as though he was ready to launch into the next war in the Middle East with Israel at his side. It probably will be the only ally that will join him, so I suggest he start now to find his "Coalition of the Willing" before he takes office.

He wants to return to the "Bush Tax Cuts." That is only going to put the USA back where it was at the time of the Great Recession. The best policy to balancing a budget and reducing the deficit is to provide upward movement to all Americans. Such dynamics feeds the US Treasury and the debt it has occurred. Any idea to change that idea and cut taxes further only means our children will inherit problems rather than solutions.

The dialogue about Cuba was way out of the norm. The idea stated by Jeb sounds more of embargoes and/or war. The changes Cuba needs comes from domestic improvements to bring Cuba to a modern day economics that are enjoyed by all countries and all cultures. Maintaining a strangle hold on freedom as a word that is magical is delusional. All the oppressive standards were used with Cuba to no avail. The Republicans are all retro with no sincere answers. Bush the Third gave no real answers. 

He stated he is a man of his word, so what's the word? 

Bush the Third stated he was the ultimate DC outsider that would make the USA the economic Superpower. Four percent growth is something Wall Street appreciates and not Main Street. Main Street already knows it's market without dreaming of greater dividends. Main Street is actual labor and appreciation of their customers that live in the same community. It is a stretch for any Main Street to grasp how that is going to benefit them. 

The four percent growth Bush talks of is the return of the Big Box store and the shuttering once again of Main Street. 

One of the best reforms government has ever carried out was health insurance reform. It will remove a majority of bankruptcies. Yet there was nothing stated about health care.  

Bush the third stated he as the ultimate outside will reject lobbyists. He is talking about the scandal of the "W" White House and Jack Abramoff. But, this is the reality of Jeb's insider status. 

February 14, 2015
By Steve Eder and Michael Barbar

...The stream of requests to the White House from Jeb Bush,(click here) a young but well-connected Republican leader in South Florida, ranged from the weighty and urgent to the parochial and mundane.

In 1985, he sent an emotional letter pressing his father, Vice President George Bush, to investigate the detention of Cuban children in Texas, asking, “Shouldn’t there be some compassion?” (The vice president’s reply: “Heartbreaking.”)
In 1989, after his father became president, Mr. Bush offered his recommendation for the next Supreme Court opening. (“Your suggestion will be given thoughtful consideration,” a senior aide responded.)

In 1990, Mr. Bush lobbied the White House to meet with executives of the telecommunications giant Motorola — fostering a relationship that would later aid his own political ambitions. (The chief of staff did meet with Motorola, as did President Bush.)

For the 12 years that his father held national elective office, Mr. Bush used his unique access to the highest reaches of government to seek favors for Republican allies, push his views and burnish his political profile in his home state, a review of presidential library records shows. In the process, Mr. Bush carefully constructed an elaborate and enduring network of relationships in Florida that helped lead to his election as governor in 1998 and, now, to his place as a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016....

It is just more of the same from Bush the Third. The ideological standards from decades past isn't an answer for the USA. It is not sustainable. Scary. 

Is Australia committing human rights abuses?

State sponsored people smugglers.

June 16, 2015
Jewel Topsfield, David Wroe and Sarah Whyte
 
Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla (click here) has said that paying off people smugglers – the claim made against Australian officials – amounts to bribery, in an escalation of diplomatic tensions.

"It is wrong for a person to bribe, let alone a state. Such an act is definitely incorrect in the context of bilateral relations," Mr Kalla​ said, while adding Indonesia was still checking whether the allegations were true.
 
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi called on Australia to answer her question to Australian ambassador Paul Grigson about the people smuggling payment allegations.

"Actually it is not difficult for Australia to answer my question last Saturday about the distribution if money and not divert the issue instead," Ms Retno said.

And Jakarta has also hit back at Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's attack on its failures on people smuggling, with government spokesman Agus Barnas saying that many more boats would come Australia's way if Indonesia did not enforce its borders....

There is significant controversy over the cancellation of citizenship and state sponsored people smuggling. The videos are worth watching. It would seem as though the exporting of people is occurring since Indonesia is in receipt of these boat passengers.




Leaked briefing paper shows (click here) divisions in Tony Abbott cabinet over cancelling citizenship 

June 16, 2015 
By Mark Kenny and James Massola

...It coincided with a heated argument in Parliament culminating in an attempted censure motion by the opposition over claims the Abbott government paid people smugglers to take 65 asylum seekers back to Indonesia.

The government refused to be drawn on that matter, with ministers from the Prime Minister down citing operational secrecy and adherence to the practice of not commenting on intelligence matters.

But some Liberals went further, with Tony Abbott's hand-picked "special envoy for citizenship and community engagement", Philip Ruddock, dismissing the furore over the payment claims as "nothing"....

Where is my latte? Really Mr. Romney?

Typical Republican politics of the right wing. I suppose the only coffee Mitt drinks is black and straight from the camp fire pot.

The people in the USA have worked very hard to bring about a 'coffee culture.' There are many, many independent small businesses that are based exactly at the center of that culture. There are also Wall Street companies that compete with those small businesses. 

June 15, 2015
By Brendan James

"When you see her on a stage or when she comes into a room full of people, she's smiling with her mouth but her eyes say, 'Where's my latte?'" Romney said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"It just doesn't suggest she believes everything she's saying," he continued, calling her performance "jarring."
Romney faced similar criticism during his own runs for President for flip-flopping on multiple hot-button issues, struggling to connect with working-class voters, and saying things like he enjoys hunting "small varmints, if you will."
"At this stage, what does she really believe?" he said on Monday. "I think people wonder, can they really trust Hillary Clinton?"...

The Coffee Culture in the USA is also an internationally benevolent movement.

There (click here) were about 20,000 coffee shop businesses in the U.S. with combined revenues of $10 billion in 2011, according to First Research. 

Local mom-and-pop coffee shops, compete with established national brands like Starbucks, Seattle’s Best (owned by Starbucks), Caribou, and Peet’s Coffee: 70 percent of sales are generated from the top 50 coffee shop operators....

The moral content of this culture is exceptional, sustainable and brings much needed incomes to the coffee growers internationally.

Mr. Romney's attitude is extremely arrogant. The facts are plain. There is no adverse reality from the investment by Americans to grow this culture across the USA. They started as small counter tops selling imported coffees to a culture easily recognized in every state and province. There is no down side to these businesses. 

The competition in the USA with Wall Street and these small businesses is proving to expose a very exploitative Wall Street. The large companies not only muscle out the small growers, they muscle out entire villages that have been supported by American small businesses. Much of the organic movement that provides No GMO began with this idea of building international customers. Dissing a Latte is nothing more than a faux character assassination of the former Secretary. 

If the former Secretary wasn't drinking an occasional Latte I'd be concerned. President Obama carried an enthusiasm for microbreweries. As a matter of fact the White House decided to have their own brand of beer in recognizing the President's affection for the industry. This focus by Democrats is very much realizing the importance of small businesses, local economies and the high moral culture demanded in all aspect of these dynamics.

It is a great movement. It belongs in the USA and the growth is unlimited. Mr. Romney owes the small businesses and their baristas.  As a matter of fact, baristas can make or break a business venture. So, the esteem of these industries is very important.

As far as trusting Hillary? You've got to be joking. Her priorities have been anchored in moral content from the beginning of her career. There is no doubt in Hillary's priorities and policies. They are tried and true and are very much American values. 

Private emails are important and for the former Secretary maintaining their privacy when it has no value or mention of the State Department is something the USA is fighting for as well. We want the NSA to stop spying on Americans. I would think when the former Secretary defended her personnel emails it makes for 'no wiggle room' on taming the NSA.

Republicans won't accept research to improve the quality of life of children, Americans or the all to obvious Climate Crisis...

...but, when it comes to their elections and how to win them there is no such thing as skepticism on research.

April 15, 2009
By Katherine Q. Seeyle

Researchers (click here) have now confirmed what was evident to most political campaigns last year — more than half of the voting-age public used the Internet last year to find out about, write about and comment on the presidential election.
About 55 percent of all adults — about three-fourths of all people who are online — said they went to the Internet for news about the election, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. This is the first time that more than half the country’s adults said they used the Internet for political purposes.
Two findings of the survey stand out. One is that more people are going to sites that reinforce their partisan views.
A third of those who went online for political news in 2008 said they sought out sites that agreed with their viewpoints — up from a quarter of people who said that in 2004....


This is Hillary. She has been a child advocate from the her earliest career.

By Jennifer Epstein

Hillary Clinton (click here) embraced her new role as a grandmother and her longer-term one as a child advocate on Monday, offering up proposals on early childhood education including doubling funding for Head Start.

It was Clinton's first set of policy proposals kicking off a summer of planned rollouts. Speaking at a YMCA in Rochester, N.H., Clinton revealed some details of the approach she’d take if elected, including the goal of ensuring that “in the next 10 years every 4-year-old has access to high-quality preschool.” 

Clinton, who formally launched her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Saturday, said she hopes to double funding for Head Start and for the early Head Start grant program, and supports a middle-class tax cut “that can go toward helping parents pay for quality child care.”...

Republicans always want to say this is Democratic politics. Okay, but, these politics are based in fact.

We know it is BEST for the American children to start early with mandatory Pre-School. It is a fact and the former Secretary knows exactly how successful pre-school has been. There aren't empty policies with her. Her policies are founded in strong and proven facts and has a direct dividend to the preparedness of Americans for taking on real life strategies.

Rubio isn't running for President, he is running for Vice President.

This is only one critical study regarding the education of young children.

February 11, 2011
By Dina C. Castro, Mariela M. Paez, David K. Dickinson and Ellen Frede

Abstract— Research evidence (click here) supports the importance of a high-quality early education to foster young children’s school readiness and success. In particular, programs that focus on eliminating the readiness gap for young minority children, including dual language learners (DLLs), have increased in importance given the current demographic shifts in the United States and the need to promote learning in the early years. This article discusses current knowledge about effective instructional strategies for promoting language and literacy development among young DLLs. It presents a brief summary of research on the relationship between oral language and literacy development, reviews instructional practices and language of instruction approaches, and concludes with recommendations for policy and future research.

"I can't guarantee anyone's safety....There are no lifeguards on Brunswick beaches."

That is the government culture in North Carolina talking. Those are standard answers so the state doesn't have to spend monies on their citizens.

There is no reason why North Carolina beaches can't be the safest on the East Coast. 

If one recalls there was a remote hospital closed as well because the state didn't allow the Medicaid extension. That's North Carolina. They don't care about the people, the state government is a business. Everyone is on their own.

The entire southeast government structure is the same, except, maybe Florida. Those governments know their people are impoverished and could not care less.

So, if there are sharks in the water than it is upto others to guarantee the outcomes. Others, like the federal government and/or some private concern that can tap into federal funds to provide a service. 

My first impression is warmer waters and northern migration from Florida.


A witness to a shark attack (click here) off the North Carolina coast — one of two on Sunday that cost kids their arms — told NBC News that it was "like a scene out of 'Jaws.'"
Steve Bouser was on the beach at Oak Island when a shark attacked a 12-year-old girl. He described watching someone carry the girl out of the ocean, then a crowd rushing to help her. One woman yelled for people to make a tourniquet.
"Everybody was screaming, 'Get out of the water!'" he said.
The girl was "obviously going into shock," he said. He recalled people asking, "Can you hear me?" "She would respond not very enthusiastically, but you could tell she was still conscious," he said....

Scientists have worked with sharks in recent years to monitor populations since they started dropping in numbers. This may be the beginning of a trend in migration. Marine scientists working with shark populations should assess the number and species of shark off coast of North Carolina.

Unfortunately, it might impact tourism, but, shark attacks have to be taken seriously. If the facts regarding off shore shark populations are known and understood, it may lead to education of the public to the extent of any danger. These attacks did not occur at the barrier islands. North Carolina should promote tourism and it's land based entertainment and historical places. North Carolina cannot afford a negative trend in tourism. 

Beach closings have to occur before any shark attacks once the waters have been assessed for trends if they exist. This could be a couple of rouges, but, I think there is ample reason to believe this migration into warmer waters. 

There have been other shark attacks in North Carolina in recent years. That was one very rarely in any year. This is different in that two attacks occurred in proximal distance. I could be the same shark, too. If it is a single individual, it needs to be removed from causing more problems. 

China adds muscle to it's permanent UN status.

June 14, 2015
By Sputnik News

...Beijing (click here) has recently conducted a fourth test of its hypersonic glider vehicle (HGV), called WU-14 by the Pentagon, which is purportedly aimed at overcoming US missile defense; the distinguishing feature of this test is that the WU-14 has performed so-called "extreme maneuvers," US expert in civil-military relations and cyber diplomacy Franz-Stefan Gady elaborated.

The WU-14, which is capable of delivering either conventional or nuclear warheads, was launched into space by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) booster, and then returned to Earth's atmosphere, gliding at up to Mach 10 speed (around 7,680 miles per hour)....

I take it Israel hasn't been able to hack into the Chinese military computers.

Turkey's border is challenged by refugees.

June 14, 2015
By Lefteris Pitarakis and Bassem Mroue 

Akcakale, Turkey — Thousands of Syrians (click here) cut through a border fence and crossed over into Turkey on Sunday, fleeing intense fighting in northern Syria between Kurdish fighters and jihadis.
The flow of refugees came as Syrian Kurdish fighters closed in on the outskirts of a strategic Islamic State-held town on the Turkish border, Kurdish officials and an activist group said, potentially cutting off a key supply line for the extremists' nearby de facto capital.
Taking Tal Abyad, some 50 miles north of the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, would deprive the militant group of a direct route to bring in new foreign militants or supplies. The Kurdish advance, coming under the cover of intense U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in the area, would also link their two fronts and put even more pressure on Raqqa....

"Morning Papers - Antarctica Wind


"Good Night, Moon"


New Moon

28 days old

2.6 percent lit

June 11, 2015
By Cecilia Kang, Christian Davenport

Elon Musk's (click here) space company has asked the US government for permission to begin testing on an ambitious project to beam internet service from space, a significant step forward for an initiative that could create another major competitor to telecom companies.

The plan calls for launching a constellation of 4000 small and cheap satellites that will beam high-speed internet signals to all parts of the globe, including its most remote regions. Musk has said the effort "would be like rebuilding the internet in space."

If successful, the attempt could transform the L.A.-based SpaceX from a pure rocket company into a massive high-speed internet provider that would take on major companies in the developed world but also make first-time customers out of the billions of people who are currently not online....